[maliboia]

This past weekend I was out in San Francisco for the AES Convention and when I was checking out the demo booth for DTS they had a demo of an artist playing in 5.1. I could not believe my ears! BT just released a new album named This Binary Universe and it is nothing short of phenomenal. They had the origional session so they were playing it in DTS-HD which is their new high resolution lossless format through Genelec monitors and it made my hairs stand up on end. After the convention I rand down to the Virgin Megastore just down the street from the convention center and picked up their last copy of the album.

The album includes a regular redbook audio CD as well as a DVD with the 5.1 DTS version of the album. When making the album he mixed and created the music with 5.1 in mind and as I have already said it is amazing. So basically anyone who loves great music and wants to hear an album that may pave the road for more musicians to create music with 5.1 in mind you absolutely owe it to yourself to pick it up.

http://www.thisbinaryuniverse.com/

[LSDDSL]

I prefer 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2 over 5.1 for music. However, I do feel 5.1 is superior for movies.

[tramdoctorsss]

I haven't heard too many 5.1 music tracks, but the ones I've heard are certainly fun. I don't know whether in the long run I'd find them gimmicky, but I'm willing to give them a try if they're done right (ie, not having 5 channels blasting instruments all the time would be a good start)

edit: Apparently, the special complete soundtrack recording of Fellowship of the Ring has an amazing 5.1 DVD-A mix. But then this is a movie soundtrack, so that lends itself rather well to such dramatic presentation I guess.

[jaydicassdhy]

This past weekend I was out in San Francisco for the AES Convention and when I was checking out the demo booth for DTS they had a demo of an artist playing in 5.1. I could not believe my ears! BT just released a new album named This Binary Universe and it is nothing short of phenomenal. They had the origional session so they were playing it in DTS-HD which is their new high resolution lossless format through Genelec monitors and it made my hairs stand up on end. After the convention I rand down to the Virgin Megastore just down the street from the convention center and picked up their last copy of the album.

The album includes a regular redbook audio CD as well as a DVD with the 5.1 DTS version of the album. When making the album he mixed and created the music with 5.1 in mind and as I have already said it is amazing. So basically anyone who loves great music and wants to hear an album that may pave the road for more musicians to create music with 5.1 in mind you absolutely owe it to yourself to pick it up.

http://www.thisbinaryuniverse.com/

i like 5.1 music quite a bit. i heard Dark Side of the Moon in 5.1 (i think it was just SACD or DTS or one of those formats) the 5.1 cd's aren't all that popular. i've seen them at best buy for really reasonable prices. even cheaper than a cd sometimes. $10-15 ish.

mutelight, I downloaded a bunch of DTS 5.1 music tracks off the web a year or two ago. There were a bunch of free and clear demos. I think i got it off one of those sites where you can download the THX intros and similar for your home theater PC. anyways, you may google around, there are some demos on the net. A lot of it was classical, and it was pretty cool, and very high fidelity.

[Infellgedq]

What would be really good is if someone like Apple offered 5.1 HD music over the net. Having music in a lossless codec at 24bit in 5.1 sound, would probably be a big hit.

[maliboia]

What would be really good is if someone like Apple offered 5.1 HD music over the net. Having music in a lossless codec at 24bit in 5.1 sound, would probably be a big hit.

A lot of people were talking about things similar to that at the convention, basically along the lines of scalability; the more you pay the higher resolution audio you get.

I understand that many people are purists when it comes to 2-channel audio for music but I can safely say that the 2.0 mix of this album does not hold a candle to the 5.1 DTS version. Even Dark Side of the Moon, while it works very well in 5.1, was origionally intended to be tracked and mixed for 2 channel playback. This album on the other hand was built from the ground up for surround. If you have a 5.1 setup and like electronic music you absolutely have to hear it. He has opened up a new avenue in the realm of 5.1 music production and electronic music as a whole with his highly origional production techniques.

[LSDDSL]

This album on the other hand was built from the ground up for surround.

Could you try to describe what it sounds like? More specifically, what's coming out of the rear surround speakers? Does it wound like you're in the middle of the stage with instruments all around you, or are you still front row center with all the instruments originating from the virtual soundstage in front?

I've heard 5.1 audio, but not that particular album.

[maliboia]

Could you try to describe what it sounds like? More specifically, what's coming out of the rear surround speakers? Does it wound like you're in the middle of the stage with instruments all around you, or are you still front row center with all the instruments originating from the virtual soundstage in front?

I've heard 5.1 audio, but not that particular album.

You mean as far as an "in the band" effect vs. direct/reflect which is essentially a 2 channel mix with reverb on the surrounds and key elements dry up in the center and a few spotted elements dry in the surrounds. It is a little bit of everything. He has created a mix that fully envelops the listner with elements accenting every channel and then the soundstage will morph, expand, rearrange its orientation, etc. One of his songs has two guitar pieces and they are in the left and right surrounds both playing their complementary parts while there is a banjo playing a similar structure up in the center all while the fundamentals of the song are coming out of the front L/R. I hope I have at least begun to answer your question, it is just really hard to describe exactly due to its rediculous complexity.

[Audi_z]

I think it depends on the genre of the music... for example Dance/Trance music sounds crap in 5.1 but pop/accoustic etc sounds alot better.

[maliboia]

I think it depends on the genre of the music... for example Dance/Trance music sounds crap in 5.1 but pop/accoustic etc sounds alot better.

It really depends on how the mixer approached the mix and the mastering techniques they used. (i.e. psychoaccoustics and aesthetic choices)

[hechicxxrr]

for the record The Downward Spiral and With Teeth simply pwn on 5.1.

still waiting for The Fragile to be released as such...

[aabbaDE]

5.1 music is amazing... I have this DTS 1.4mb/sec disc with a bunch of Enigma songs and it absolutely rocks[thumbup]

[maliboia]

Here is an interview with him from the M-audio site. He does a better job explaning how the album was geared towards 5.1.

Check it out:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=media.new&ID=789